A beeping sound slowly woke me from my sleep. I tried opening my eyes but I can't find the energy for it. I was contemplating on going back to sleep and was already drifting off but the beeping has gotten louder and quicker. Resigning myself to getting up, I scrubbed my eyes with the palm of my hands. The room slowly came into focus. I sat up and immediately regretted it. It might be because of last night's excitement or my bed is just really bad but my back hurts. I scooted over to the edge of the bed so I could warm my feet on the deck. That's a habit of mine. I hate it when I get surprised by cold flooring.

I still felt tired. I woke up a couple of times from nightmares about slavers and the augment I killed but oddly enough, I didn't feel so bad about killing the guy. I kinda dreaded that it would haunt me for the rest of my life but I had more trouble with the idea of slavers chasing me. Does that make me evil? Shouldn't I be an emotional wreck after killing somebody? I'm sure as hell I never wanted to do it and never even thought about the possibility of actually taking a life yet aside from a nightmare, there was very little remorse. I wanted to do some introspection but that infernal beeping was driving me crazy. I got off the bed and started searching for where the racket was coming from. I was tapping the room control screen when dim lights gradually illuminated the room.

"Good morning Mr. Mayon. Shipboard time is 0400. Ms. Vasiliev has requested me to remind you that she expects you at your duty station at 0430. I have taken the liberty of waking you up earlier to allow allowance for hygiene. I hope I was not presumptuous with your schedule. Forgive me but I was not able to consult with you last night. You were added late in the duty roster by the head cook. I decided that it would be for you to have an uninterrupted rest. Did I make the right decision?"

"Yes, mother, you did and thank you." I groggily replied as I move towards the refresher unit. It was a little bigger than my closet back in Ceres but it'll do. I checked my water allocation on the refresher screen and saw I have about two minutes of running water on high pressure. It's not a lot but it could have been worse. I could opt to use the sonic cleaner but it just doesn't give you that clean feeling. I got under the shower head and got to showering.

"Mother, is there anything I should know? I haven't read the stuff master chief and Franny sent last night." I asked as I washed off the dirt, blood, and sweat I've accumulated. I'm going to have to throw the bed sheets in the cleaning unit.

"Nothing immediate. The admiral had recalled all personnel on shore leave when we returned yesterday and has been coordinating with the Ceres Government. The Woglinde will be joining the search for the cloaked slaver ship. More information will be released once more details pertaining to the situation becomes necessary."

"Okay, so we're hunting them now. No surprise there. Thanks, mom. I'll just call you mom. Mother is too much mouth work."

"Whatever is comfortable to you the most." I thought I heard a sarcastic tone in her voice but I must be imagining things.

I finished cleaning myself and made use of the extra time I had before work to shave and make myself presentable. I checked the clothes I got from the supply officer and chose a plain white shirt that has the Red Tiger Mercenaries patch and a pair of sturdy but light pants. I threw them on and sat on my chair. I still have a couple of minutes so I accessed the files Franny sent me on my desk computer. I searched for a bit until I found her menu plan.

Most people that don't know anything about food preparation don't understand how much effort goes in on cooking food. You think about the food on your plate and how it taste like. You might complain that it took too long or it was not to your liking but that's it. Kitchen crew has to worry about that and a lot more.

The menu list for our galley shows a 20-day meal guide for the three major meals, desserts, and late night meals. I studied the menu and sat back to think deeply about the meals described. Franny's menu revolves around a 35 credit plate/meal budget. When I match it with the menu list, I would say she's a freakin' miracle worker to make that list work. A few recipes on the list contain some pretty expensive ingredients. Unless they have a local source everywhere they go, I can't see how they can get those ingredients for a reasonable price. One of the ingredients for Jappal Stew is a bright green seedpod that only grows in its local planet, Huttula Prime. Even the merchant guild in Ceres has to pay through its collective noses to get a good price for it. I pulled up the lists for perishables and found we have almost a hundred kilos of the stuff. That's an insane amount to have. You just need to add one pod per sixty-liter soup base to get its mildly sweet and spicy taste in the mixture and that's already pushing it. Its generally sold by the milligram.

As I continue to work my way through on the galley files, I could see why Franny was so desperate for experienced help. It was not just a question of amount. The ship has three species to feed. Though the ship is primarily carrying a human crew, there was still a sizable number of Inugorians. The Barral eat a lot but they generally eat about once a week. The Inugorians are purely vegetarians and only a few of the human ingredients is compatible with our furry friends. The two other galleys already have cooks trained in xeno-culinary preparation. Only ours don't. In fact, we're the only galley that doesn't have trained assistant cooks. Franny had to take control of our galley because she was the only one free and knows not to poison the non-humans.

I checked the time and decided to make my way to the galley for my first day of work. I was both excited and a little anxious about it. This will be my first time serving a crowd this big. My time on a watership was a little different. We had a full complement of cooks and a head chef. From the duty roster that I checked, it will just be the four of us and we'll be feeding an estimated 1000 people during meal times. The two other galleys will be serving about the same but we're what I learned as the 'dirty' galley. We'll primarily be serving the pilots and the flight deck crews. Modern equipment has done away with people-intensive labor such as chopping, peeling, and constant stirring but until they can invent a machine that can adjust taste, there will always be a need for a cook.

I stepped in the in the preparation area and could see the two assistants I briefly met last night already hard at work. The Inugorian was filling an autovat with water. I could see that he was adding it to the soup stock he worked on last night. From the smell of it, I think it's vegetable stock. My other co-worker just came out of the walk-in freezer carrying an entire side of prime beef. He was laboring under the weight. I could see him struggling and hustled to help him out. I grabbed the lower end of the beef side shouldered it. The relieved cook gave me a smile.

"Thanks, man. I thought I was gonna drop it for a moment. The name's Titus Tom. You could call me 'T' and before you ask, yes, my last name is Tom."

We dropped the slab on the chopping counter. T stuck a hand out and I gave him a warm handshake. Titus is a young man from what I can see. Actually, I think he's barely out of his majority. He's a sturdily-built man with a well developed upper body. He's definitely a body builder. His plain grey shirt was straining to contain his biceps and pectorals. His bald head was completely shiny from sweat. He took out a rag and wiped it dry. He's probably the darkest skinned man I've ever met. He reminds me of an obsidian statue of a male god I saw during an art festival in Illustratum. A number of off-world artists visited the city to showcase their works. T reminds me of the centerpiece they revealed of a god from a religion I don't recognize standing on top of a rock majestically staring at the horizon.

T has that youthful exuberance that makes older people hate you. We just wrestled a side of beef and his breathing was already normal. It might also just be that I need more exercise. What I consider his best attribute is his eyes. They're soft, large eyes that have a kind look to them.

"You've checked the menu right? Man, Franny's working us hard. I dunno half of the stuff in there. You know that shit? cause I sure as hell don't."

"I checked it out earlier and yes, I know how to prepare them. Don't worry, I'm here to help."

"That's great! Finally. Maybe Franny would step off my dick some now that we got somebody who actually knows how to make some good grub." Titus moved back to the vegetable processor and proceeded to feed it potatoes. I've got a feeling he's been doing that a lot.

I looked around and found a clean apron hanging from a peg. I put it on and washed my hands in the nearby sink. After drying my hands, I approached the other person in the kitchen crew.

"Strong roots, tall trees friend." I intoned as I touched my forehead with my left-hand fingers.

"Green leaves, fresh fruits friend." The Inugorian completed the traditional greeting of his people. The cook gave me a close approximation of a smile. The Inugorians don't have the same facial muscles to be able to smile naturally. It's a cultivated skill for them. If an Inugorian shows teeth at you, he's definitely not smiling. He's on the verge of ripping you apart.

"I'm Albert Mayon. I'll be working with you guys starting today."

"I have heard. Welcome, friend. I am Musaka of the line of Arandi. Your arrival is a great relief. The staffing of our galley leaves a lot to be desired." Musaka said.

Musaka is short for an Inugorian. Just under 2 meters, he would have been quite unusual among his people. Height variances are rare among the tree dwellers. The reddish brown coloration of his fur was accented with black splotches here and there. He has his ringed tail wrapped around his waist to avoid it getting in the way.

To most humans, the Inugorians look the same. The human eye is just not good enough to pick up slight differences in their faces. Most people try to look for something obvious to help them in identifying separate individuals. The Inugorians try to be understanding by wearing distinctive accessories like rings or bracelets of unique design. Some use fur braiding on their facial hair for a more fashionable approach. I won't have any problems with Musaka because of some horrendous burn scarring on the lower right of his face. I tried not focus on it.

"Franny said something about that. I'll try to lighten some of the load."

"Please do. I've yet to make Franny satisfied with my work. It is difficult for me, cooking. I'm a chemist by training. It plays well in creating food because, in its base aspect, cooking is the combination of compounds to arrive at a consumable mixture. I have thought that chemistry would make cooking simple but I'm wrong." Musaka said with a forlorn tone.

"I think it's more because you work with precise science. Exact measurements and such right? Recipe cooking is all well and good but you would always get the same result. Franny probably has been working on making her creations taste better." I also use some recipes when I cook but it's more of a flexible guide. Some people like things more savory or sweet. I'm not a fan of locking in my flavors.

Musaka just nodded and took out some Inugorian vegetables from the galley stockroom. He started chopping what looks like apples but twice as big and is blue. I left him to work on it and decided to make myself useful. I tapped on the galley screen and checked the menu for today. I mentally cataloged the necessary ingredients and familiarized myself where everything is. After a couple of minutes of opening and closing drawers and cabinets, I felt more confident in being able to grab the things I need without spending too much time rummaging.

I took out a large molecular cleaver and went back to the slab of beef on the preparation table. Checking for how much the recipe called for, I started cutting it into proper portions. The vibrating cleaver made short work of the meat. I was used to adding some omph when chopping so I had to remind myself I'm not using a traditional tool.

After slicing the meat, I checked with T for the vegetables. He's been working on those since last night and have them ready. I gathered some broccoli and dumped them in the steamer. While it was gently steaming, I started working on the butter sauce. I didn't notice but I was slowing getting into the zone. I started working faster and soon I was zipping around the kitchen. I was really into it that I almost ran into Franny. She arrived looking Fresh and ready for the day. She looked at what I have accomplished and gave me a hug. I think there was a tear in her eyes. She quickly broke away and started firing instructions at us. I was to continue working on the vegetables while she works on the stew and the roast. I'll be helping Musaka on preparing the Inugorian meals when I'm done. I was doing good work and felt happy my skills were being properly utilized. I might not have a lot of skills but cooking is one of them. I barely noticed the time as I was so focused on the food I was preparing.

"Hey, what are you humming? I'm digging it."

The question snapped me out of my trance. I was turning over some Inugorian vegetables for a quick roast. T was skewering them on long roasting rods for me.

"Oh, nothing. It's a popular pop song in Ceres a couple of years back. I kinda start doing that whenever I'm busy at the kitchen. Helps me focus, sorry."

"Hey, whatever makes you do your thing, man. I'm not judging."

"Thanks. I had some co-workers who complained about it before when I was apprenticing under a chef. The said it was distracting them."

"You won't have that problem with me. In fact, how about you share me some of your music, man? I love listening to new stuff." T grunted as he racked the heavily loaded rod on the oversized roaster.

There are four accepted Inugorian cooking styles. Roast, bake, steam, and stew. Frying has never really been used since most local oils in the Inugorian homeworld is mildly poisonous to them. The concept was introduced by other races and though technically they could use oil substitutes, they just plain don't like it. I personally prefer roasting when preparing Inugorian food. Less work for me.

T and I continued working in tandem while we chatted. I learned that T was actually brought in by the Master Chief. Titus is the son of an old colleague of his whom he used to serve with back when they were still in military service. T's dad got hurt in a lev car accident and couldn't go back to work. His injuries were extensive and required a lot money. They had to sell off a lot of properties to get him back on his feet. By the time his dad was ready to go back to work, they found out that he's been replaced. He got a good back pay and the service don't forget veterans but there was still a long way before they could reach a comfortable lifestyle. T was of age and decided that the quickest way for them to do that was to join one of the merc companies. Mercs get shares from spoils they get. They don't have the best regular pay but a captured ship will earn a merc a lot of money, even if the shares they own are small. His dad tried to talk him out of it but T wasn't listening so his dad did the next best thing, ensured that his son doesn't do something stupid. He got into contact with the master chief and found him a place here. Thing is, T is not exactly infantry material. He's strong, fast, and a good shot but he doesn't take to tactics very well. He's taking lessons from the master chief and until he proves that he wouldn't get himself and his squadmates killed, galley duty is his assignment.

After finishing loading the roaster, I checked the menu and saw that everything for breakfast was done. The different appliances in the preparation area were still working overtime but nothing requiring operator intervention. I started studying the lunch menu and saw that it would be a lot busier later.

I heard Franny call my name so I looked up and saw her motioning me to come to her. She was at the autovats station slowly manually stirring the stew. I went to her and the savory smell of the stew hit me.

"Here, try it out and tell me what you think." Franny passed me a loaded spoon. I blew at it a bit then stuck it in my mouth. I closed my eyes and focused on the taste.

It is at this point that most people would say 'it's good!' or 'it's bad.' That's not an acceptable answer for a cook. The main purpose of tasting something is to know WHY is it good or bad.

Though some experts might disagree, it is the common belief that the receptors in the human taste buds can taste five basic flavors. Those flavors are not just a result of putting something in your mouth but your sense of sight, touch, and smell plays a big role in how you perceive the taste of something.

Human cuisine is generally based on one or two base taste. Simpler dishes normally has one basic taste that the other ingredients revolve around. An apple pie has the basic taste of 'sweet.' Sweet and Sour pork uses two basic tastes, hence the name sweet and sour. This is important to know because your understanding on how taste work will dictate if the dish is 'good' or 'bad.'

The most basic assessment that all people could do is testing intensity. How strong or weak the taste is. 'Is it too sweet or too salty' is a question very easy to arrive at. Much harder to do is to assess how much intensity does the recipe calls for. How much 'sweet' does an apple pie need for it to be 'good.' That is not easy to say because people being people, we all have a different taste and different tolerances. Those that tend to eat salty dishes on the regular has a higher salty taste tolerance compared to those that don't. What might be salty for you might be a little bit bland for others. That's what makes a person a good food critic. They could tell you in exquisite detail why something is good or bad because they could describe the taste and qualify it based on a given common baseline. That's why when you travel to different worlds or regions of your planet, beef stew from Ceres would be different from the beef stew from Proserpine even if they have the exact same ingredients. Culture, availability of ingredients, and cooking practices would make the same dish different each time.

"Taste's great, Franny. Savory without it being salty. The potatoes helped suck in the saltiness and gives it a starchy flavor. The beef stock is a bit different from what I've gotten accustomed to in Ceres but I'm liking the onion-heavy style to it. Gives it a little spice to accent the beef." I said. It kinda sounded critical and I hope she didn't take it that way.

"Good, yes? It's a favorite of mine and I try to serve it once every new menu rotation."

"Isn't this expensive? I read the file you sent me last night. From what I gather, we're on a tight budget."

"ah, but you forget, we're a mercenary carrier. We can buy ingredients from the worlds we visit. We overstock with ingredients we can buy cheap from the world we're visiting or if we have time and got permits, get it ourselves. Nothing's better than freshly-caught fish I tell you." Franny wistfully stared at the stew for a moment before she went to the stockroom. I followed her as she entered the room. Franny gave me a brief tour of the huge room so I could find everything easily and I could see what she told me was true. There was an abundance of some ingredients while others were carefully used to stretch them out until we could get resupplied. Since we were here already, Franny had me carry out a box of canned fruits for the dessert she's making for later.

We went back to work and finished up the breakfast menu a few minutes before the breakfast rush. Considering we've been preparing for a huge crowd, I'd say we did well. Franny was already directing T and Musaka to start preparing for the lunch menu. As usual, T is helming the processor. I have a feeling he works there most of the time.

"alright, let's get these things on the serving counter. I want you working the counter so the crew could see you. Everybody wants to see the new guy especially if said new guy is feeding them." The mischievous wink she gave me didn't give me a comforting feeling.

We filled up the counter and had the flock of servidrones on stand-by. I checked the old-styled mechanical clock installed beside the counter and saw that it wouldn't be long before people start streaming in. I wasn't wrong as hungry crewmen came looking for breakfast. A group of them made a beeline for the coffee dispenser but the majority grabbed trays and got in line. The human complement had the stew, two dry dishes and some bread rolls to eat while on the Inugorian side of the counter was the roast I made, fresh salad, and some boiled Pranna, a rice-like vegetable except it was yellow. Musaka was handling the Inugorian line and I could hear him speaking in his native language with the people on his line. The Inugorian language is mainly hoots and whistles so a group of them speaking at the same time is quite a racket.

"Who are you?"

I looked away from watching Musaka do his job to address the question. An overweight, middle-aged man was squinting at me. He was wearing a very greasy shirt and a pair of work pants that have a couple of burn holes on it.

"I don't think I've seen you before. You new here?" He asked as I poured some beef stew in a bowl and placed it on his tray.

"Yep. Name's Albert. I'm Franny's new assistant cook."

"Well, shit. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. The last couple of goobers she had working for her, our food tasted like something I would feed to my mother-in-law, and I hate my mother-in-law."

"Have a taste of your breakfast and you tell me." I waved at him to move since he was holding up the line. He gave me a disbelieving snort and took his tray to look for a table. The line moved briskly as the dining room started filling up. People dug in and were surprised with their meal.

"Hey, Franny! The hell happened to our food!? This is actually edible for once. You feeling okay?" Somebody yelled. Laughter rolled around the dining room with other people seconding the comment. I didn't see who it was but Franny was quick to answer. She stepped up to the counter to set her sights on the wiseass.

"You keep complaining Carl yet you keep eating. If you must know, the new guy made your breakfast possible. I don't have to hurry everything anymore so be nice to him." Franny yelled back while pointing at him with her kitchen knife.

"If your crew keeps cooking like this then he'd have no problems with me. I'll even give him a kiss for this broccoli sauce, it's amazing!"

"You're too late. I already gave him a fat one last night." With that, Franny went back to her chopping. A roar of discontent washed over me as people started throwing curses my way. One particularly incensed guy threw a bread roll at me. I snatched it out of the air and put it back on the counter. I raised my hands in surrender. The unhappy men, and some women, settled down to grumbling.

"I didn't ask for it!" I loudly proclaimed but was ignored by the masses.

"Aren't you a lucky bastard! What'd you do? There's a long list of people who tried and got shot down by the 'red beauty.'" The skinny guy Franny called Carl was polishing off his tray and took the time to interrogate me.

"Nothing. I just got in. I guess she was really hurting for experienced help." I said.

"Hey, Franny! If all it takes to get some smooches out of you is to know how to cook well, I make a pretty mean gumbo." Carl yelled while lazily waving his spoon around.

"You can make ONE dish Carl. Even if you can make something edible out of that sorry of an excuse abomination you call gumbo, You're still too ugly." Franny's witty comeback incited another round of laughter. Some even choked on their food. Carl placed his hands on his chest with an exaggerated shocked expression on his face.

"You wound me, my lady. For your information, I'm quite the dashing rogue. What you call ugly is more commonly known as an alternative look. Last port we made I had trouble walking back to the ship. Women can be so very demanding of my time." Carl's wagging eyebrows and ball grabbing almost made the woman sitting beside him throw up. She would have gagged if she wasn't vacillating between being disgusted and laughing.

"Then don't let them kick you in the balls then. Wait, I take that back. We need less ugly in this world so ball-bashing it is." Some of the crew were on the ground pounding the floor while others were wheezing and holding their sides from laughter. Carl just gave a deep sigh and went back to eating his stew.

"If any of you bastards think they know how to cook and want to do something useful during your downtime, present yourself to me at 18:00 every Tuesday. If you're good enough, I'll petition that you get to work for me part-time. Hell, if you're really good, I'll freakin' wrestle with your squad leader to get your ass behind this counter. We need cooks, people. You just tasted how good help made your food better so if you want to keep eating the good stuff, get me some help. To give anybody interested an incentive, you'll earn credits from me... And a kiss, maybe." Franny made her way in front of the dining crowd to make her sales pitch and I saw some people thinking about her proposition. I can see that Franny is a very beautiful woman but I didn't know she was the ship's heartthrob. I could understand why getting a kiss from her could earn you some backstabs in a deserted passageway. What makes this interesting is Franny know that she's really attractive and she uses that to her advantage.

The first batch of the breakfast crowd was busily working through their meal. I had to refill the coffee dispenser a couple of times and took a cup myself. I almost spat it out. I've heard from some people that work on military ships that shipboard coffee is uniformly bad and I didn't believe them. I believe them now. This was like drinking tar. I think I could see something congealing on the bottom of my mug. I shuddered and emptied my mug in the waste recycler. I'm going to be talking with Franny about this. If this is the best they could do, I'll see if she could let me take a shot at it.

Meal times work on 30-minute intervals of 2 hours so just as the first group finished, the second group of hungry personnel came looking for food. I was busy serving food and chatting with the Woglinde crew. Unlike working in a restaurant, I have only one demographic and that's the mercenaries. They tend to be a sour and aggressive bunch. When I first came aboard, I was expecting to see huge, dirty brutes comparing chest hair while shooting things at random. I've been working for less than a day and though they could come across as crass, they're just like regular people. If regular people walk everywhere with guns. And armor. And former military service... Okay, they're not regular people. Still, they eat like everybody does and enjoys good food like everybody else.

The entire day was a blur of activity for me. Just as breakfast was done, we started working on lunch. The menu called for 1 wet, 2 dry, and 1 vegetable dish just like breakfast sans bread roll. The Inugorians generally eat twice a day since they metabolize food slower than a human. Inugorian vegetables and fruits are very dense and it takes a while for them to break it down into absorbable nutrients.

I was working both in preparation and serving the entire day. Musaka and T helped me on and off but they had their own work to do. Franny worked her magic and I understand how valuable she is. She's like a veteran line chef working the kitchen. I'm thankful that she gave me some allowances since I wasn't as fast as all of them are but it was still my first day. I made a personal promise to memorize where everything is so that I could work at their pace. I was used to working on multiple dishes for a smaller group of people. I'd have to change my mindset and adjust accordingly.

When lunch was over, Franny told me to clean up and to follow her. I returned my now food-splattered apron back on its peg and washed up. The scent of breakfast and lunch was strongly clinging to my clothes. It's kinda nice, really. Franny was already out the door and impatiently tapping with her right foot. I hustled and caught up to her.

"What are we doing?"

"Your other job. Don't forget, this is a warship. In a firefight, 'we drop pans and strap cans' as we call it. We're damage control. I'll be teaching you how to strap on your breathing module and how to operate the extinguisher bombs and retardants. After that, you'll be learning how to patch bulkheads. We can't have holes in our ship. That's why you have to learn the layout of the ship so you can immediately respond anywhere. Later, T will be taking you to the armory to get a gun. He'll be teaching you how to use it. Don't be fooled, that boy can shoot." We reached another door and Franny opened it and entered. We found ourselves in an equipment room. I could see everything was laid out for quick access. Environmental suits were on rapid access stands, equipment lockers with snap out rails holding firefighting equipment, emergency hull patches beside quick welders and so on. Franny strode to the center of the room and spun to face me.

"But first, You need to learn how to suit up fast. Red Tiger Mercenary standards require you be fully geared up and ready in one minute twenty seconds during emergency situations. I will show you how to put on your equipment so pay attention."

Franny proceeded to instruct me the intricacies of emergency response by slowly donning the lightly armored environmental suit while pointing out things on it and what function they served. Getting the suit on took some clever wiggling and a particular method. Once she had the suit on, she showed me how to strap on the various firefighting and patching equipment. After she was satisfied that I understood how everything goes on in its proper sequence, she had me demonstrate it back to her one step at a time. She made a simple ditty that helps you remember the proper procedure when gearing up. After a few fits and starts, I finally got myself properly geared up. Franny had me remove everything and do it again. This time, I was able to get everything on no problem. I looked at Franny through my helmet and grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. She nodded and had me strip everything off.

After I returned everything back to its rightful place, I looked inquisitively at Franny. She took out a holo tab and stuck it on the locker beside her. I could see it projecting a counter.

"Now, do everything again but this time, I will time you. Don't suck." Her sinister smile made me groan.

"This is going to be a long afternoon..."